A messaging system may provide an alerting mechanism to subscribers, the alerting mechanism generating alert messages including content provided by at least one content provider. A content provider may inadvertently submit duplicate content to the message alerting system, which could thereby cause duplicate alert messages to be sent to a subscriber. Additionally, a subscriber may also inadvertently sign up for duplicative alert messages, which may also cause duplicate alert messages to be sent to the subscriber. To remedy these situations, a duplicate alert content checking function may be required to protect the subscribers from receiving duplicate alert messages.